Does your community resemble a collection of isolated islands?
Maybe you can be the bridge builder for a movement to unite.

Hurricane Irma reminded us again of the power of community. Times of emergency bring people together. Whether by reaching out on social media, sending emails, knocking on the neighbor’s door, or helping with post-storm cleanup, such times remind us of the importance of connection.

As I walked around Atlantic Beach after the storm I thought of a sign I spied will visiting Boulder, Colorado earlier this year.

Keep it clean ‘cause we’re all downstream.

While the sign references the need for stewardship over our waterways, I find it a poignant metaphor for community. What we do affects our neighbors. We all live “downstream” in one way or another.

If one house’s drainage culvert is not kept clear of debris, it will have an impact on the neighbors’ property. If I don’t trim and properly maintain a tree in my yard, it may have an impact (literally) on a neighbor’s house. When you help a neighbor scoop up some yard debris, you assist the entire block in getting back to normal.

Earlier this summer, I created an email and phone contact list/group for the neighbors on our street. Not a particularly big deal. But one did not exist. Three months later, it allowed us to stay in contact during and after the hurricane.

Another reminder that there is no need to be an island.

Think of your community. Maybe it’s a high-rise condo or a sprawling suburban neighborhood. How do people act to improve the lives of others? How do you wish they would act? Same questions for you. The individual fingers are more powerful when acting in concert as a fist.

Does your community resemble a collection of isolated islands? Maybe you can be the bridge builder for a movement to unite. Start small. Maybe a neighborhood brunch or happy hour.

Video recommendation of the week.

Derek Sivers reminds us of the power of a movement—and how to start a movement. As he tells us, sometimes it just takes a lone nut to create the movement.